Promoting inter-religious harmony through university community engagement project: a case study of the educational visit to places of worship (Edvist)

• Main Author: Mohd Nor, Nur Suriya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IIUM Press 2020
• Subjects: BL Religion
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/83012/1/EDVIST%20IREP.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/83012/; https://journals.iium.edu.my/al-itqan/index.php/al-itqan/article/view/150/71

In promoting the unity among multi-religious society Malaysia, the Department of Uṣūl al-Dīn and Comparative Religion (RKUD) is conducting a University-Community Engagement (UCE) project known as the Educational Visit to Places of Worship (EDVIST). This project is a platform to promote inter-religious harmony among Malaysians. The aims of this paper are to describe the nature of the Educational Visit to Places of Worship (EDVIST) and highlight EDVIST as a platform to promote interreligious harmony among multi-religious society in Malaysia. The methodology used for this study is through conversation, observation and student journals. The findings show that students gave positive feedback on the visit. The interreligious harmony happened during the visit, both parties managed to respect, tolerate, and understand each other. This University-Community engagement project developed a mutual understanding and good relationship among the RKUD lecturers, students, and the communities. By having first-hand information through the visit will surely provide better understanding to all students which may lead to better future of Malaysia